Changes in the Air
by Savvy0712
Summary: Edmund and Lucy Pevensie struggle to blend in with their new school after returning home from staying with Eustace. Set after VotDT.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_You won't be going back to Narnia._

Those words stung through Edmund Pevensie's soul. Had he done something wrong? Aslan had said that he and Lucy were grown. What did that matter?

Edmund attempted to clear his mind as he continued to pack his suitcase. It was finally time to go home. He and Lucy were leaving tomorrow. It had been almost two whole months since Edmund, Lucy and Eustace had returned from their sea adventure in Narnia and so many things had changed; and Eustace was one of them.

"Edmund, do you know where my history book is?"

That question voiced by Eustace would have been stated slightly differently had the adventure in Narnia never happened.

Previously, it would have sounded more like:

"Edmund, I know you're hiding my history book somewhere! Where is it or I will tell Mother! MOTHER!" Eustace's exclamations would end in him stomping off to find his mother and then accusing Edmund of hiding his book. His mother would then ask Edmund to give the book back to Eustace and Edmund would reply that he did not have the book. Mrs. Scrubb would turn around and walk off leaving Eustace blubbering and yelling at Edmund to return his book, which would result in Eustace being punched in the nose.

Edmund sighed in gratefulness

_Thank you, Aslan._

He knew that he would not have been able to put up with two more months of Eustace, but because of the change in his cousin's demeanor and attitude, Edmund had actually looked forward to it. He, Lucy, and Eustace had planned a nightly ritual of meeting in Lucy's bedroom to discuss Narnia. That had been his favorite time of the day.

Edmund forced his mind back to the present.

"Edmund?"

Eustace's voice caused him to suddenly remember his cousin's question a few seconds earlier.

"No. I haven't seen it. Sorry!" Edmund yelled back through his bedroom door and he resumed his packing.

A few minutes later, he heard someone knocking on his door.

"Who is it?" He called out.

"It's me, Eustace."

"Come in."

The door opened slowly to reveal his cousin, looking rather melancholy.

"Is something wrong, Eustace?"

Eustace shook his head. "Not really. It's just that…"

His voice trailed off as his gaze fell upon Edmund's packed suitcase.

He sighed before continuing. "I just can't believe that you and Lucy are actually leaving."

Hearing Eustace say it like _that_ made Edmund feel somewhat down-hearted, as well.

"We'll visit."

"I know, but it's just not the same." Eustace plopped down on Edmund's bed and rested his head in his hands.

"Edmund? Eustace?"

Lucy's voice called out through the door.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

"Of course, Lu." Edmund answered.

As Lucy entered the room, the boys noticed that her eyes were red and swollen.

"Lu, are you all right?" Her brother wondered.

Lucy sat down next to Eustace on Edmund's bed.

"Am I the only one who feels sad about leaving?"

The boys looked at each other with small smiles.

"Not at all." Eustace replied.

"As a matter of fact," Edmund began, "A few minutes ago, Eustace came in sounding like his best friend had died, upset that we were leaving tomorrow."

He grinned at his cousin, who in turn playfully punched him in the side and smirked.

"Edmund was about to cry."

"I was not!" Edmund protested.

Eustace raised his eyebrows and looked at him.

"Whatever you say, cousin."

Lucy smiled at both of them.

"I thought that there would be no more fighting once we got back from Narnia."

"You thought wrong." Edmund responded with a cheeky grin.

"Edmund, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!" She teased. "A king of Narnia should never argue with his poor sister."

"Poor sister!" Edmund exclaimed. "Ha!"

He grinned at Eustace before continuing,

"And a queen of Narnia should know better than to tease her older brother."

The next thing Edmund knew, he was being barraged with fluffy pillows.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Sorry for not updating in so long! My life has been insane! Also, my grandpa had pancreatic cancer last year and we were at his house every single day spending time with him. He passed away in August of '12 and we had to deal with funeral plans and such and then a month later, my family and I moved and now life is at last winding down, so I should be able to update more, now. Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews and thank you for reading! PLEASE REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Enjoy! :)**

**One Week Later**

"Hey, new kid!"

The burly 16 year old boy in the signature red and white uniform, called out on the school sidewalks of BereanAcademy.

Edmund continued walking to his next class with faithful Lucy at his side, not realizing that the shout was meant for him. The next thing he knew, he was kicked in the back of the shins, causing him to collapse on the sidewalk.

"Edmund!" Lucy shrieked as her brother went down.

"I was talking to you!"

The student who had addressed Edmund earlier kicked the sprawled out figure again.

Edmund refused to cry out to the searing pain in his legs and his head, where the second kick was targeted.

Lucy flinched, helplessly watching the scene before her.

"Are you going to call out for your little sister to save you?" The boy jeered. "Huh?"

Another brutal kick was applied to the ribcage.

In a matter of seconds, Edmund lunged for the boy's legs, grabbed hold of them, and then yanked him down onto the sidewalk. Edmund stood up, brushed his hands off and faced the boy, who was glaring at him from below.

"If I were you," Edmund began with gritted teeth and anger flashing in his brown eyes, "I wouldn't try that, again."

He sharply turned around and said over his shoulder, "Come on, Lu."

Lucy glanced one last time at Edmund's attacker and then jogged to catch up to her brother. As the siblings walked away, they noticed that a group had gathered a few feet away from where the boy still lay.

"That new kid pummeled you, Carter!"

"What happened?"

"Who was that kid?"

Questions and jeers arose from the small crowd which grew increasingly larger as other students discovered that Carter was beat for once.

A loud yell of hatred and frustration was heard from the disabled figure still lying helplessly on the sidewalk.

"I'm going to kill that kid!"

"I wonder if all of the students are like that boy- Carter, I think they said his name was."

Lucy said as she walked with Edmund past the ruckus behind them.

Edmund shrugged. "I hope not, but if they are, I will just have to show them that I will not stand for bullying. It is not noble to throw someone to the ground because they didn't hear you."

Lucy put a hand on her brother's shoulder, stopped and turned to look at him.

"Not everyone in our world has the same just and chivalrous nature that you have, Edmund. We're not in Narnia, anymore."

Edmund sighed. "You just realized that?"

He did not wait for an answer before continuing, "It was hard enough to go back to our world, before, even when I knew that I was going back. Now, knowing that I'm not ever going back makes it even harder to bear with."

Lucy paused.

"Aslan knows what he's doing, Edmund. He wouldn't send us back if there wasn't a reason."

"Then, what's the reason?" Edmund questioned. "Why can't we go back? We didn't do anything wrong."

"That's not the point. It could be that we don't see the big picture and that Aslan does. Therefore, what he decided is for our own good."

Edmund looked at his younger sister.

"Sometimes, you are wise beyond your years."

Lucy smiled and looked back at him.

"Isn't it time for your next class?"

He grinned.

"So, you're forcing me to leave you?"

"I am merely assisting your brain to aide you in remembering that your mathematics class starts in five minutes."

"Then I had better go, now."

Edmund hugged his sister and waved one last time before dashing to his classroom.

One thing Edmund had learned from his math class was that David Carter was a troublemaker. Everything the teacher said, he had either argued with it, mocked it, or ignored it. A few times, he almost fell asleep. Carter and his buddies had shot spitballs at the nerds and held rather loud conversations that distracted the teacher, Mr. Riley, and also the students. Edmund had spent half of the class, avoiding Carter's death glares sent his way, every few seconds. Now, as he walked through the school hallways to his locker, someone shoved him against the metal lockers to his right side. Once, Edmund had regained his composure he stared his attacker in the face.

It was Carter.

"Do I know you?" Edmund asked, his lips set in a tight line, attempting to restrain himself from saying something he would regret.

"Not yet, but you will, soon, Pevensie." Carter cautioned in rage.

"How do you know my name?"

"I asked around." Carter pinned him up against a locker. "You think you're brave, don't you? Well, you definitely have nerve."

A loud resounding crack was applied to Edmund's mouth.

"_You_ certainly have nerve to assault a king!" Edmund yelled with rage.

The words escaped his bloodied lips before he could stop them.

There was no time for regret.

He extended his fist and punched Carter in the nose. Carter stood in shock for several seconds staring at Edmund with wide eyes, crimson blood dripping from his nose. He shook himself, closed his eyes for a second, and then opened them once more, burning with hatred and rage.

Suddenly, a different emotion shown in his eyes as Edmund's previous words finally registered.

"A king?" The boy spat out. "Ha!"

The exclamation of scornful laughter echoed in the filled halls.

"What are you? Mad?"

Edmund could say nothing. His lips would form no words.

Carter called a fellow student over. "Williams! Come here! I have something to tell you!"

Williams, a muscular 17 year old blond that towered over both other boys, strode over and noticed their wounds.

"Something wrong?" He asked in a booming voice.

"Not at all." Carter lied. "Pevensie, here, was only telling me that he was a king."

He maliciously turned towards Edmund. "Weren't you?"

Williams and Carter were both staring at him expectantly waiting for an answer.

Edmund had no idea of what to say.

_Help me, Aslan._

"Yes, I was." Edmund boldly answered looking both of them in the eyes.

Even Carter's eyes were wide with surprise.

Williams finally closed his mouth and spoke.

"I must have heard you wrong, Pevensie. Did you say that you were a king?"

Edmund nodded. "Yes. I already answered that."

"What are you saying?" Carter questioned, confusion written on his tan face. "The only king around in England is King George. Don't be ridiculous!"

"I never said that I was king of _England_." Edmund brashly stated.

Williams raised his eyebrows. "Are you king over your little imaginary country that you made up when you were a kid?"

Both boys looked at each other and laughed.

"I would say that, but leave out the 'imaginary' part." Edmund replied.

Carter laughed again and held up an open palm to Edmund.

"Let me get this straight. You're king over another world or something?"

"That's about right."

"Wow. Aren't _you_ a crazy one?" Williams shook his head in disbelief.

He turned to Carter.

"Come on. Leave the kid alone. He's obviously a little confused."

They glanced at him one last time with befuddled expressions on their faces and walked off, leaving Edmund with a bloody lip and a rather large smirk on his face.

"_That's_ one way to get them to stay away."


	3. Chapter 3

**PLEASE REVIEW! I love to hear everyone's opinion on my stories! Thank you so much guys for your support! Enjoy Chapter Three! :)**

When Edmund had answered Carter and Williams, he had never expected it to spread around the school so quickly. The very next day, he was noticing several confused or mocking looks aimed his way.

Lucy was shocked at what he had told the two boys the previous day and had told him that it would not result in a good way.

That he would be the brunt of jokes for the rest of the year and on.

That he would be ignored or mocked and then left to himself.

That he would have no friends.

Lucy was right.

Edmund would have ignored the glances if that was all, but of course, there was more.

He walked through the spacious school hallway attempting to ignore all of the looks, but not succeeding. He finally made it to his locker alive, and fumbled with the combination lock.

The locker swung open and for several seconds, Edmund's heart stopped beating.

Taped to the door of his locker was a handmade poster.

It was a crude pencil sketch of Edmund in the background wearing a crown and royal robe while holding a scepter.

The bold writing in the center of the drawing read,

"**All Hail, King Edmund.**"

Edmund sighed.

So much for the matter being forgotten about.

A rather large arm draped over his shoulder and Edmund turned only to see Carter at his side grinning at the drawing.

"It looks just like you, doesn't it, Pevensie? Was your crown drawn properly or are there more jewels surrounding the base?"

Carter laughed.

Edmund gritted his teeth and threw Carter's arm off his shoulder, turning to face his tormentor.

"Did you do this, Carter?"

"Not me. Him." Carter turned around and pointed a finger at one of the students.

Edmund followed the path of his finger and saw who the perpetrator was- Williams.

"I should have known." Edmund muttered.

Both boys turned back around facing the lockers and the loathed picture.

"So," Carter began nonchalantly, "Tell me about your magical country. Is it as large as England or larger, or perhaps it is smaller in size? What creatures inhabit the land? I am guessing there are unicorns and elves and all sorts of things."

Edmund would have thought that Carter was sincere about the questions by listening to the tone in his voice, but the smirk on the other boy's face was a dead giveaway of his real attitude.

"You better leave, Carter, before I smash your face again." Edmund warned in a deathly quiet tone.

"I believe that it is _my_ turn to smash your face, Pevensie!" Carter yelled, his voice echoing throughout the halls.

Everything was silent.

Every student immediately stopped what they were doing, turned, and watched the two boys.

Edmund threw a right hook and Carter dodged just in the nick of time. Carter fell to the ground and sideswiped Edmunds feet out from under him. Edmund fell to the ground and smashed his head on the cold concrete. As he was fighting to overcome the swelling pain, Edmund instinctively grasped for his sword that was not there. Just for a moment, Carter wondered what Edmund was reaching for and then dove in for the kill.

A solid punch was applied to Edmund's left temple.

Edmund felt a searing pain in the side of his head and saw a quick shimmer of light.

Then… nothing.


End file.
